Orda (organization)
Encyclopedia
An orda or horde was an historical sociopolitical and military structure found on the Eurasian Steppe
, usually associated with the Mongols. This entity can be seen as regional equivalent of a clan
or a tribe
. Some successful ordas gave rise to khanate
s.
While the Slavic term, ordo, and western, horde, were in origin a borrowing from the Mongol term ordo for "camp, headquarters", the original term did not carry the meaning of a large khanate
s such as the Golden Horde
. These structures were contemporarily referred to as ulus ("nation" or "tribe").
It was only in the Late Middle Ages that the Slavic usage of orda was borrowed back into the Turkic languages.
Etymologically, the word "orda" comes from the Mongolian
word ordo, or Turkic
"orta", which means side, section, tent or direction.
translated as "camp" or "palace, tent
". and thence "seat of power" or "royal court".
Within the Liao Empire of the Khitans, the word ordo was used to refer to a nobleman's personal entourage or court, which included servants, retainers, and bodyguards. Emperors, empresses, and high ranking princes all had ordos of their own, which they were free to manage in practically any way they chose.
The Kazakh language
name the division of an army was jüz
"hundred.
William of Rubruck
described the Mongol mobile tent as follows:
as orda (орда), and by the 1550s into English as horde, probably via Polish and French or Spanish. The unetymological initial h- is found in all western European forms and was likely first attached in the Polish form horda.
It should be noted that the Russian word orda could refer to a large political entity (as in Golden Horde
) but also to smaller army camps.
Merriam-Webster
defined horde in this context as "a political subdivision of central Asian people" or "a people or tribe of nomadic life".
Ordas would form when families settled in aul
s would find it impossible to survive in that area and were forced to move. Often, periods of drought would coincide with the rise in the number of ordas. Ordas were patriarchal, with its male members constituting a military. While some ordas were able to sustain itself from their herds, others turned to pillaging its neighbors. In subsequent fighting, some ordas were destroyed, others assimilated. The most successful ones would, for a time, assimilate most or all other ordas of the Eurasian Steppe
and turn to raiding neighboring political entities; those ordas often left their mark on the history, the most famous of them being the Golden Horde
of the latter Mongol Empire
.
Famous ordas (hordes) included:
tribes (or grouping of tribes). In modern day, there three different groupings are differentiated: the Lesser Horde (little jüz) in western Kazakhstan
, the Middle Horde (middle jüz) in central Kazakhstan and the Greater Horde (great jüz) in southeastern Kazakhstan.
Eurasian Steppe
The Eurasian Steppe is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome. It stretches from Hungary to Mongolia...
, usually associated with the Mongols. This entity can be seen as regional equivalent of a clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
or a tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
. Some successful ordas gave rise to khanate
Khanate
Khanate, or Chanat, is a Turco-Mongol-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish, the word used is kağanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate...
s.
While the Slavic term, ordo, and western, horde, were in origin a borrowing from the Mongol term ordo for "camp, headquarters", the original term did not carry the meaning of a large khanate
Khanate
Khanate, or Chanat, is a Turco-Mongol-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish, the word used is kağanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate...
s such as the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
. These structures were contemporarily referred to as ulus ("nation" or "tribe").
It was only in the Late Middle Ages that the Slavic usage of orda was borrowed back into the Turkic languages.
Mongol ordo
Middle Mongolian language
Middle Mongolian is an ancient Mongolic language formerly spoken in the Mongol Empire and later on in Greater Mongolia during the 13th to at least the early 15th century.-Definition and historical precessors:...
word ordo, or Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
"orta", which means side, section, tent or direction.
translated as "camp" or "palace, tent
Yurt
A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
". and thence "seat of power" or "royal court".
Within the Liao Empire of the Khitans, the word ordo was used to refer to a nobleman's personal entourage or court, which included servants, retainers, and bodyguards. Emperors, empresses, and high ranking princes all had ordos of their own, which they were free to manage in practically any way they chose.
The Kazakh language
Kazakh language
Kazakh is a Turkic language which belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages, closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak....
name the division of an army was jüz
Jüz
A jüz is one of the three main territorial divisions in the Kypchak Plain area that covers much of the contemporary Kazakhstan. Variably, a jüz is believed to be a confederation or alliance of Kazakh nomads...
"hundred.
William of Rubruck
William of Rubruck
William of Rubruck was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. His account is one of the masterpieces of medieval geographical literature comparable to that of Marco Polo....
described the Mongol mobile tent as follows:
Slavic orda
The Mongol word via Tatar passed into East SlavicEast Slavic
East Slavic can refer to:* East Slavic languages* East Slavic peoples...
as orda (орда), and by the 1550s into English as horde, probably via Polish and French or Spanish. The unetymological initial h- is found in all western European forms and was likely first attached in the Polish form horda.
It should be noted that the Russian word orda could refer to a large political entity (as in Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
) but also to smaller army camps.
Mongol Empire
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia (1911) defined orda as "a tribe or troop of Asiatic nomads dwelling in tents or wagons, and migrating from place to place to procure pasturage for their cattle, or for war or plunder."Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster
Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
defined horde in this context as "a political subdivision of central Asian people" or "a people or tribe of nomadic life".
Ordas would form when families settled in aul
Aul
An aul is a type of fortified village found throughout the Caucasus mountains, especially in Dagestan.The word itself is of Turkic origine and means simply village in many Turkic languages....
s would find it impossible to survive in that area and were forced to move. Often, periods of drought would coincide with the rise in the number of ordas. Ordas were patriarchal, with its male members constituting a military. While some ordas were able to sustain itself from their herds, others turned to pillaging its neighbors. In subsequent fighting, some ordas were destroyed, others assimilated. The most successful ones would, for a time, assimilate most or all other ordas of the Eurasian Steppe
Eurasian Steppe
The Eurasian Steppe is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome. It stretches from Hungary to Mongolia...
and turn to raiding neighboring political entities; those ordas often left their mark on the history, the most famous of them being the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
of the latter Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
.
Famous ordas (hordes) included:
- the White Horde, formed 1226
- the Blue Horde, formed 1227
- the Golden HordeGolden HordeThe Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, a Tatar-Mongol state established in the 1240s - the Great HordeGreat Horde- Dissolution of the Golden Horde :The peripheral regions of the Golden Horde broke off as follows: 1438: Kazan Khanate, 1441: Crimean Khanate, 1466: Astrakhan Khanate The remnant, which became known as the Great Horde, was left with the steppe between the Dnieper and Yaik, the capital Sarai and a...
, remnant of the Golden Horde from about 1466 until 1502 - the Nogai HordeNogai HordeThe Nogai Horde was a confederation of about eighteen Turkic and Mongol tribes that occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghits constituted a core of the Horde...
, a Tatar clan situated in the Caucasus Mountain region, formed in the 1390s
Modern Kazakh tribes
The term is also used to denote separate KazakhKazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
tribes (or grouping of tribes). In modern day, there three different groupings are differentiated: the Lesser Horde (little jüz) in western Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, the Middle Horde (middle jüz) in central Kazakhstan and the Greater Horde (great jüz) in southeastern Kazakhstan.